<![CDATA[VANGUARDS: The Briefing]]>https://vanguards.media/s/the-briefinghttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!67jt!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F22a2a438-867e-4f89-ad6d-1599b3343243_1020x1020.pngVANGUARDS: The Briefinghttps://vanguards.media/s/the-briefingSubstackTue, 07 Apr 2026 08:31:19 GMT<![CDATA[The Briefing: Quantum Computing Goes Mainstream While AI's Bills Come Due]]>https://vanguards.media/p/the-briefing-quantum-computing-goeshttps://vanguards.media/p/the-briefing-quantum-computing-goesMon, 01 Dec 2025 09:19:22 GMTHi There 👋

Something unusual happened on November 28: an established asset manager launched a fund dedicated to quantum computing stocks. Not a niche vehicle for crypto bros or tech evangelists, but an actual ETF trading on the Chicago Board Options Exchange with a tidy 0.45% expense ratio. If that sounds mundane, consider what it signals about where we…

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]]><![CDATA[The Briefing: IBM and Cisco Chart Quantum's Network Future]]>https://vanguards.media/p/the-briefing-ibm-and-cisco-charthttps://vanguards.media/p/the-briefing-ibm-and-cisco-chartFri, 21 Nov 2025 08:18:24 GMTHi There 👋

IBM and Cisco announced yesterday plans to collaborate on networked distributed quantum computing, targeting an initial proof-of-concept by the end of 2030. The partnership aims to physically link multiple large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers to work together on computations involving tens to hundreds of thousands of qubits. Unlike s…

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]]><![CDATA[The Briefing: Chips Print Cash, Mall Talk Moves Into ChatGPT, And AI Nations Go Shopping For Power]]>https://vanguards.media/p/the-briefing-chips-print-cash-mallhttps://vanguards.media/p/the-briefing-chips-print-cash-mallThu, 20 Nov 2025 09:53:29 GMTHi There 👋

Global markets spent the last 48 hours trying to decide if AI is still a bubble or just the new electricity bill. Nvidia is printing money, Adobe is buying its way into the post-SEO world, Target is turning ChatGPT into an aisle, and Saudi Arabia plus its neighbours are quietly positioning themselves as AI engine rooms for half the planet.

Beh…

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]]><![CDATA[The Briefing: AI Accelerates, The Cloud Cracks, Regulation Ramps]]>https://vanguards.media/p/the-briefing-ai-accelerates-the-cloudhttps://vanguards.media/p/the-briefing-ai-accelerates-the-cloudWed, 19 Nov 2025 10:31:43 GMTHi There 👋

Global markets experienced a fourth straight down day as investors began to voice the uncomfortable truth: AI valuations might be ahead of the underlying reality. The major US indexes slipped again on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 down and the Nasdaq declining, as money rotated out of high-flying AI names like Nvidia Corporation and other growth-…

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]]><![CDATA[The Briefing: The Bookseller Returns with a Secret AI Project]]>https://vanguards.media/p/the-briefing-the-bookseller-returnshttps://vanguards.media/p/the-briefing-the-bookseller-returnsTue, 18 Nov 2025 08:44:19 GMTHi There 👋

Jeff Bezos is building something again. The Amazon founder emerged Monday as co-CEO of Project Prometheus, a new artificial intelligence venture launching with €5.4 billion ($6.2 billion) in funding. It marks his first operational role since stepping down from Amazon in 2021, and the timing tells you everything about where the AI race is head…

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]]><![CDATA[The Briefing: Leadership Shuffle Season Arrives as Tech Giants Plan Their Next Chapters]]>https://vanguards.media/p/the-briefing-leadership-shuffle-seasonhttps://vanguards.media/p/the-briefing-leadership-shuffle-seasonMon, 17 Nov 2025 01:22:21 GMTHi There 👋

The changing of the guard is accelerating at some of tech’s most powerful companies, and it’s happening faster than many expected. Apple’s board has intensified succession planning for Tim Cook’s potential departure as early as 2026, just as Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway placed a €3.7 billion bet ($4.3 billion) on Alphabet, signaling co…

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]]><![CDATA[The Briefing: Built to Write Perfect Code. Perfect for Breaking It Too.]]>https://vanguards.media/p/the-briefing-built-to-write-perfecthttps://vanguards.media/p/the-briefing-built-to-write-perfectFri, 14 Nov 2025 08:20:24 GMTHi There 👋

If you thought AI coding assistants were niche tools for developers tinkering in dark basements, think again. Yesterday, Cursor raised $2.3 billion (€2 billion) at a $29.3 billion (€25.2 billion) valuation - more than tripling from $9.9 billion (€8.5 billion) just five months ago. The San Francisco startup has crossed $1 billion in annualized…

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]]><![CDATA[The Briefing: Cloud Computing Gets Literal]]>https://vanguards.media/p/the-briefing-cloud-computing-getshttps://vanguards.media/p/the-briefing-cloud-computing-getsThu, 13 Nov 2025 08:16:07 GMTHi There 👋

Remember when the cloud was just... well, clouds? Now Silicon Valley wants to literally put data centers in the sky, and the race is officially on. While Elon Musk has been busy tweeting about Mars colonies, a stealthy startup called Starcloud just quietly launched the first Nvidia H100 GPU into Earth’s orbit – a processor 100 times more powe…

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]]><![CDATA[The Briefing: Europe’s €15 Billion AI Infrastructure Sprint]]>https://vanguards.media/p/the-briefing-europes-15-billion-aihttps://vanguards.media/p/the-briefing-europes-15-billion-aiWed, 12 Nov 2025 08:30:22 GMTHi There 👋,

Europe just became Silicon Valley’s favorite construction site, and the numbers prove it. While tech giants scramble to retain their best minds, they’re simultaneously writing checks with more zeros than a developer’s test database to build out AI infrastructure across the continent.

The last 24 hours saw two of America’s largest tech compani…

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]]><![CDATA[The Briefing: DC Reopens While London Empties]]>https://vanguards.media/p/the-briefing-dc-reopens-while-londonhttps://vanguards.media/p/the-briefing-dc-reopens-while-londonTue, 11 Nov 2025 08:47:36 GMTHi There 👋

After 41 days of economic paralysis, Washington’s longest-ever government shutdown appears headed for its finale. The Senate approved a funding measure late Monday with enough Democratic defectors to hit the crucial 60-vote threshold, sending legislation to the House that could reopen federal agencies as early as Wednesday. Markets responded …

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]]><![CDATA[Chip Prices Jump, Chinese EVs Surge, and Rockets Attempt Redemption]]>https://vanguards.media/p/the-briefing-chip-prices-jump-chinese-evs-surgehttps://vanguards.media/p/the-briefing-chip-prices-jump-chinese-evs-surgeMon, 10 Nov 2025 00:30:21 GMTWhile enjoying the weekend, the cost of building smartphones jumped, Chinese electric vehicles demolished Tesla’s UK position, and Jeff Bezos prepared another attempt to land a rocket on a ship.

TSMC quietly told its biggest clients — including Apple — that advanced chip prices are rising 8-10% starting next year. The Taiwanese foundry is ending volume d…

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]]><![CDATA[Apple's Siri Gets a Brain Transplant From an Old Fo]]>https://vanguards.media/p/apples-siri-gets-a-brain-transplanthttps://vanguards.media/p/apples-siri-gets-a-brain-transplantFri, 07 Nov 2025 09:25:09 GMTHi There 👋

Fourteen years after Siri made its debut, promising us a sci-fi future where we’d chat naturally with our phones, Apple has quietly admitted defeat. The company that revolutionized voice assistants with the iPhone 4S in 2011 is closing talks with Google and is rumored to start paying Google roughly $1 billion (€867 million) annually to make i…

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]]><![CDATA[The Briefing: When Investors Get Cold Feet]]>https://vanguards.media/p/the-briefing-when-investors-get-coldhttps://vanguards.media/p/the-briefing-when-investors-get-coldThu, 06 Nov 2025 08:17:01 GMTHi There 👋

Wall Street is developing a nervous twitch about corporate investment, and yesterday’s market reactions told two very different stories about what sells and what doesn’t.

DoorDash found itself in an uncomfortable position during its earnings call. The food delivery company—which generates around $2 billion (€1.7 billion) in annual free cash fl…

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]]><![CDATA[The Infrastructure Underneath Tomorrow's Innovation]]>https://vanguards.media/p/the-briefing-the-infrastructure-underneathhttps://vanguards.media/p/the-briefing-the-infrastructure-underneathWed, 05 Nov 2025 08:35:55 GMTHi There 👋

While Amazon is busy slashing thousands of white-collar jobs to make room for AI efficiency gains, another AI startup is doing something more audacious: replacing Amazon’s customers. Not ideal from Amazon’s point of view, and more consequential than you might think. The twist? One of that startup’s major investors is Jeff Bezos himself. Talk …

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]]><![CDATA[The European AI Exodus (and the Soldiers Who Stayed Behind)]]>https://vanguards.media/p/the-briefing-the-great-european-exodushttps://vanguards.media/p/the-briefing-the-great-european-exodusTue, 04 Nov 2025 08:56:40 GMTHi There 👋

If you’ve been paying attention to Silicon Valley lately, you might have noticed something peculiar: OpenAI is spending money like a tech company that just discovered its credit card has no limit. On Monday, the ChatGPT-maker announced a $38 billion (€33 billion), seven-year deal with Amazon Web Services, adding yet another hyperscaler to its…

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]]><![CDATA[Robots, Billions, and the Great European Gold Rush]]>https://vanguards.media/p/the-briefing-robots-billions-andhttps://vanguards.media/p/the-briefing-robots-billions-andMon, 03 Nov 2025 09:00:00 GMTHi There 👋

If your social media feeds have felt suspiciously robot-heavy lately, you’re not imagining things. Between Tesla’s Optimus doing kung fu demonstrations and Swiss startups with humanoid hands that can pick up croissants (priorities!), we’re living through what might be the most ambitious - and occasionally absurd - moment in robotics history.

B…

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